Greeting and Praise for the Philippians
1 Polycarp and the presbyters who are with him, to the Church of God that lives as a stranger at Philippi: may mercy and peace from God Almighty and Jesus Christ our Savior be multiplied to you. I rejoiced with you greatly in our Lord Jesus Christ, because you welcomed the followers of the true Love and escorted them on their way, as was fitting for you, those men encircled in saintly chains, which are the crowns of those who are truly chosen by God and our Lord; 2 and because the steadfast root of your faith, renowned from the earliest times, remains until now and bears fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured even to the point of death for our sins, whom God raised, having freed him from the pains of Hades; 3 in whom, though you did not see Him, you believe with inexpressible joy full of glory, a joy many desire to enter, since you know that it is by grace you are saved, not by works, but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.
The Resurrection and the Teaching of Jesus
1 So prepare yourselves for action and serve God in fear and truth, abandoning empty, idle talk and the error of the many, because you have believed in Him who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave him glory and a throne at His right hand; to whom all things in heaven and on earth were made subject; whom every creature that has breath serves; who comes as judge of the living and the dead; whose blood God will require from those who disobey Him. 2 He who raised Him from the dead will also raise us, if we do His will and walk in His commandments and love the things He loved, avoiding all unrighteousness, greed, love of money, slander, and false testimony; not repaying evil for evil, or insult for insult, or blow for blow, or curse for curse; 3 but remembering the words the Lord spoke when He taught: Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Show mercy, so that you may receive mercy. The measure you give will be the measure you get back; and again, Blessed are the poor and those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.
Paul's Letter and the Commandment of Righteousness
1 I write these things to you about righteousness, brothers, not because I took this on myself, but because you invited me. 2 For neither I nor anyone like me is able to follow the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul, who, when he was among you, taught the word of truth accurately and reliably face to face with the people of that time; who also, when he was absent, wrote you a letter, and if you study it carefully, you will be able to be built up in the faith given to you, 3 which is the mother of us all, while hope follows after and love leads the way, love toward God and Christ and toward our neighbor. For if anyone is absorbed in these, he has fulfilled the commandment of righteousness; for whoever has love is far from all sin.
Instructions for Wives and Widows
1 But the love of money is the beginning of all troubles. Knowing, then, that we brought nothing into the world and can carry nothing out, let us arm ourselves with the armor of righteousness, and let us teach ourselves first to walk in the commandment of the Lord; 2 and then our wives also, to walk in the faith that has been given to them and in love and purity, cherishing their own husbands in all truth and loving everyone equally in all chastity, and to raise their children in the discipline of the fear of God. 3 Our widows must be self-controlled in the faith of the Lord, praying constantly for everyone, and avoiding all slander, malicious talk, false testimony, love of money, and every evil thing, knowing that they are God's altar, and that all sacrifices are carefully inspected, and nothing escapes Him, whether their thoughts or intentions or any of the secrets of the heart.
Instructions for Deacons, Young Men, and Virgins
1 Knowing, then, that God is not mocked, we ought to live in a way worthy of His commandment and His glory. 2 In the same way, deacons should be blameless in the presence of His righteousness, as deacons of God and Christ and not of men; not slanderers, not two-faced, not lovers of money, self-controlled in all things, compassionate, diligent, walking according to the truth of the Lord who became a minister (deacon) of all. For if we please Him in this present world, we will also receive the world to come, just as He promised to raise us from the dead, and that if we conduct ourselves in a way worthy of Him we will also reign with Him, if indeed we have faith. 3 Likewise the younger men must be blameless in all things, caring for purity above all and restraining themselves from every evil. For it is a good thing to refrain from the lusts in the world, for every lust wages war against the Spirit, and neither the sexually immoral nor effeminate persons nor men who defile themselves with men will inherit the kingdom of God, nor will those who do perverse things. Therefore it is right to abstain from all these things, submitting yourselves to the presbyters and deacons as to God and Christ. The virgins must live with a blameless and pure conscience.
Instructions for Presbyters
1 And the presbyters also must be compassionate, merciful toward all people, bringing back the sheep that have gone astray, visiting all the sick, not neglecting a widow or an orphan or a poor person, but always providing for what is honorable in the sight of God and of men, avoiding all anger, favoritism, and unjust judgment, staying far from all love of money, not quick to believe anything against anyone, not hasty in judgment, knowing that we all owe a debt of sin. 2 If, then, we ask the Lord to forgive us, we also ought to forgive, for we are under the eyes of our Lord and God, and we must all stand at the judgment-seat of Christ, and each one must give an account of himself. 3 So let us serve Him with fear and all reverence, as He Himself commanded, and so did the Apostles who preached the Gospel to us and the prophets who announced in advance the coming of our Lord; being eager for what is good, avoiding causes of stumbling, and false brothers, and those who bear the name of the Lord hypocritically, who lead foolish people astray.
The Confession That Jesus Came in the Flesh
1 For everyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is antichrist; and whoever does not confess the testimony of the Cross is of the devil; and whoever twists the sayings of the Lord to suit his own desires and says that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, that person is the firstborn of Satan. 2 So let us abandon the empty ways of the many and their false teachings, and turn back to the word that was handed down to us from the beginning, being self-controlled in prayer and persistent in fasting, asking the all-seeing God in our prayers not to bring us into temptation, just as the Lord said, The Spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.
The Endurance of Jesus as an Example
1 So let us hold firmly and constantly to our hope and to the guarantee of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ, who bore our sins in His own body on the tree, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth, but for our sake He endured all things, so that we might live in Him. 2 So let us become imitators of His endurance; and if we suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him. For He gave this example to us in His own person, and we believed this.
The Endurance of Ignatius, Paul, and the Apostles
1 I urge all of you, then, to obey the word of righteousness and to practice all endurance, which you also saw with your own eyes in the blessed Ignatius and Zosimus and Rufus, and also in others from among you, as well as in Paul himself and the rest of the Apostles; 2 being convinced that all these did not run in vain but in faith and righteousness, and that they are in their rightful place in the presence of the Lord, with whom they also suffered. For they did not love the present world, but Him who died for our sake and was raised by God for us.
Blameless Conduct Among the Gentiles
1 Stand firm, then, in these things and follow the example of the Lord, firm and immovable in the faith, loving the brotherhood, devoted to one another, partners with the truth, outdoing one another in the gentleness of the Lord, despising no one. 2 When you are able to do good, do not put it off, for almsgiving delivers from death. All of you, be subject to one another, keeping your conduct blameless among the gentiles, so that from your good works you may receive praise and the Lord may not be blasphemed because of you. 3 But woe to the one through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed. Therefore teach everyone self-control, which you yourselves also live by.
The Case of Valens
1 I was deeply grieved for Valens, who was once a presbyter among you, because he so fails to understand the office that was given to him. So I warn you to refrain from greed, and to be pure and truthful. Refrain from all evil. 2 But how can someone who cannot control himself in these things require it of another? If anyone does not refrain from greed, he will be defiled by idolatry, and will be judged as one of the Gentiles who do not know the judgment of the Lord. Or do we not know that the saints will judge the world, as Paul teaches? 3 But I have not found or heard of any such thing among you, among whom the blessed Paul labored, who were his letters in the beginning. For he boasts of you in all those churches which alone knew God at that time; for we did not yet know Him. 4 Therefore I am deeply grieved for him and for his wife, and may the Lord grant them true repentance. So you yourselves must also be self-controlled in this, and do not regard such people as enemies, but restore them as weak and straying members, so that you may save your whole body. For by doing this, you build one another up.
Prayer for the Philippians
1 For I am convinced that you are well trained in the sacred writings, and nothing is hidden from you. But this is not granted to me. Only, as it is said in these scriptures, Be angry and do not sin, and Do not let the sun set on your anger. Blessed is the one who remembers this; and I trust that this is so with you. 2 Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal High-priest Himself the [Son of God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth, and in all gentleness and in all freedom from anger, and in forbearance and patience and steady endurance, and in purity; and may He give you a share and a place among His saints, and to us with you, and to all under heaven who will believe in our Lord and God Jesus Christ and in His Father who raised him from the dead. 3 Pray for all the saints. Pray also for kings and powers and princes and for those who persecute and hate you and for the enemies of the cross, so that your fruit may be evident to all, and that you may be perfect in Him.
The Letters of Ignatius
1 You wrote to me, both you yourselves and Ignatius, asking that if anyone goes to Syria he might take your letters there too. And I will do this if I get a suitable opportunity, either myself or the person I send as an ambassador on your behalf as well. 2 We are sending you the letters of Ignatius that he sent to us, and all the others we had with us, as you instructed; they are attached to this letter, and you will be able to benefit greatly from them. For they include faith and endurance and every kind of edification that relates to our Lord. And concerning Ignatius himself and those who were with him, if you have any reliable news, let us know.
Commendation of Crescens and Farewell
1 I am writing these things to you through Crescens, whom I recommended to you recently and now recommend to you again, for he has lived blamelessly among us, and I believe he will do the same among you. And you will have his sister recommended to you when she comes to you. Farewell in the Lord Jesus Christ in grace, you and all yours. Amen.
An Introduction to Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians
4 min read
Polycarp, a leader of the Christian community in Smyrna in Asia Minor, wrote this Greek letter in reply to a letter from the community in Philippi, sometime around the death of Ignatius of Antioch in the second or third decade of the second century CE. One perspective is that the letter was written as a single document. Another perspective is that it is made of two letters, a short note in Epistle to the Philippians 13–14 sent with copies of Ignatius' letters within weeks of his journey to Rome, and a longer letter in Epistle to the Philippians 1–12 sent later, perhaps around 120 CE.12 The Philippians had asked Polycarp to write to them about righteousness and to send them the letters of Ignatius he had on hand. In reply, he describes the conduct expected of wives, widows, deacons, young men, virgins, and elders, warns the community about people who deny that Jesus came in the flesh, and grieves over Valens, a former elder at Philippi who has fallen into greed.
Polycarp quotes and echoes earlier Christian letters throughout, and his extensive use of 1 Peter is the clearest case. In Epistle to the Philippians 8:1, Polycarp says that Jesus committed no sin and that no deceit was found in his mouth, language from Isaiah 53:9 that Polycarp gives in the altered form found in 1 Peter 2:22. In the same passage, Polycarp repeats the image from 1 Peter 2:24 of Jesus taking human sins on himself in his own body on the tree. In Epistle to the Philippians 10:2, Polycarp repeats the call of 1 Peter 2:12 for blameless conduct among the gentiles, but gives a different purpose for it, so that the community receives praise and God's name is not blasphemed on their account, where 1 Peter describes outsiders who see good deeds and glorify God.3 The warning in Epistle to the Philippians 7:1 that everyone who does not confess that Jesus has come in the flesh is antichrist is very close to 1 John 4:2–3 and 2 John 7. These are the only other early Christian texts that use the word antichrist, and Polycarp's language most likely comes from 1 John. Polycarp also names Paul's letters to the Philippians as something they should study, and uses 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and 1 and 2 Timothy in his own letter, such as the saying that the love of money is the beginning of all troubles from 1 Timothy 6:10.4
Polycarp also uses Tobit, as in Epistle to the Philippians 10:2, where he tells the Philippians not to delay when they can do good, since almsgiving delivers from death, a saying found in Tobit 4:10 and Tobit 12:9. The connection between almsgiving and deliverance from death is unusual enough that a quotation of Tobit is almost certain, although this part of the letter survives only in Latin, and its exact language depends on the Latin translator.5 Polycarp turns to Valens in Epistle to the Philippians 11, and he may intend almsgiving as the remedy for the greed that led to Valens' fall.6
Polycarp's letter is often compared with 1 Clement and with the letters of Ignatius. In Epistle to the Philippians 2:3, Polycarp lists teachings of Jesus about judgment, forgiveness, and mercy that resemble the list in 1 Clement 13:2 and the teachings in Matthew 7:1–2 and Luke 6:36–38, but match none of them exactly. Polycarp and the author of 1 Clement appear to use a similar tradition of Jesus' teachings. The surviving evidence does not show whether Polycarp took the list from 1 Clement, from a Gospel, or from a tradition passed on by word of mouth.7 Polycarp knew Ignatius personally and collected his letters, but the two writers differ sharply. Ignatius writes urgently and demands obedience to a single bishop, while Polycarp writes calmly and tells the Philippians to be subject to their elders and deacons, with no bishop mentioned.8
Irenaeus, a second-century bishop of Lyon who had known Polycarp in his own youth, recommends this letter. Eusebius, a fourth-century Christian historian, copies Epistle to the Philippians 9 and 13 into his history and identifies quotations of 1 Peter in it.910 The Greek text survives in nine manuscripts that all go back to a single manuscript tradition, and each one breaks off in the middle of Epistle to the Philippians 9:2 and runs straight on into the Epistle of Barnabas 5:7 without a break. The rest of the letter, Epistle to the Philippians 10–12 and 14 along with the end of 13:2, is known only from a Latin translation.11
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